Dutch prepositions can be frustrating. You learn that in means in, and then you encounter:
Ik zit in de trein.
I am on the train.
You learn that op means on, and then someone says:
De kinderen zijn op school.
The children are at school.
And just when you think voor must surely mean for, Dutch gives you:
Ik wacht op de bus.
I am waiting for the bus.
So what exactly are you supposed to learn?
The first useful thing to know is that Dutch prepositions do not correspond neatly to English prepositions. Trying to memorise equations such as op = on or voor = for will work sometimes, but it will also produce plenty of mistakes. A better approach is to recognise two broad situations.
Sometimes a preposition expresses a relationship you can understand: where something is, where it is going or when something happens.
At other times, the preposition simply belongs to a verb, adjective or noun:
wachten op: to wait for
denken aan: to think about
trots op: proud of
behoefte aan: need for
In those cases, the combination is best learned as one unit.
That distinction is the key to making Dutch prepositions much more manageable. Dutch grammar likewise distinguishes prepositions with a clear spatial or temporal meaning from fixed prepositions selected by a verb or expression.
Dutch prepositions at a glance
| Type | What does it express? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Place | where something is | Het boek ligt op tafel. |
| Direction | where something moves | Ik ga naar school. |
| Time | when something happens | De les begint om negen uur. |
| Fixed combination | belongs with another word | Ik wacht op de trein. |
| Preposition + pronoun | refers back to a thing or idea | Ik wacht erop. |
The first three categories often give you some meaning to work with. The fourth is different. If Dutch says wachten op, there is little value in asking why op corresponds to English for. The important vocabulary item is the whole combination:
wachten op
not simply:
wachten
In these constructions, the preposition is closely connected to the verb or expression and usually cannot simply be exchanged for another one without changing the meaning.
What is a preposition?
The Dutch word for a preposition is voorzetsel. Common examples include:
aan, bij, in, met, naar, op, over, uit, van, voor
A preposition normally introduces a group of words:
in de keuken
in the kitchen
op maandag
on Monday
met mijn collega
with my colleague
na de les
after class
over het probleem
about the problem
Prepositions express relationships between things in a sentence. Those relationships may be spatial, temporal or much more abstract. That sounds simple enough. The difficulty is that a single preposition can express several different relationships.
Consider op:
Het boek ligt op tafel.
The book is on the table.
Ik ben op school.
I am at school.
We vertrekken op maandag.
We leave on Monday.
Ik wacht op de trein.
I am waiting for the train.
The first use is clearly spatial. The second and third developed into conventional place and time expressions. In the final example, op belongs to the fixed combination wachten op. Dutch dictionaries and grammar references therefore list many different uses of a common preposition such as op rather than assigning it one English equivalent.
1. Prepositions of place
Let’s start with the uses that are easiest to visualise.
In
In often describes being inside something or within an area:
De melk staat in de koelkast.
The milk is in the refrigerator.
Mijn sleutels zitten in mijn tas.
My keys are in my bag.
Ik woon in Utrecht.
I live in Utrecht.
You also normally use in for being inside public transport:
Er zitten veel mensen in de trein.
There are many people on the train.
Notice the English translation: English prefers on the train, while broadly standard Dutch uses in de trein. In Belgian Dutch, however, op de trein is also standard.
This is a useful reminder not to build too much theory around the English word.
Op
The most concrete use of op involves a surface:
Mijn telefoon ligt op tafel.
My phone is on the table.
Er ligt sneeuw op het dak.
There is snow on the roof.
But op has many conventional place uses too:
De kinderen zijn op school.
The children are at school.
Ik ben op kantoor.
I am at the office.
These uses no longer have much to do with physically being “on top of” something. Op has developed a much wider range of spatial and institutional meanings in Dutch. So think of surface as a useful starting point, not as a rule that explains every occurrence of op.
Aan
Aan frequently expresses contact, attachment or a position next to something:
De foto hangt aan de muur.
The photo is hanging on the wall.
We zitten aan tafel.
We are sitting at the table.
Compare:
Het bord staat op tafel.
The plate is on the table.
Wij zitten aan tafel.
We are sitting at the table.
The same table appears in both sentences, but the relationship is different. This is much more useful than trying to decide whether English at should always become Dutch aan.
Bij
Bij often means near, with or at the place of someone or something:
Ik wacht bij de ingang.
I am waiting by the entrance.
We eten vanavond bij mijn ouders.
We are having dinner at my parents’ place tonight.
Ik ben bij de dokter.
I am at the doctor’s.
Again, there is no single English translation. The meaning comes from the complete expression.
2. Place and direction: in is not naar
One distinction is particularly useful:
Where are you?
versus:
Where are you going?
Compare:
Ik ben in Amsterdam.
I am in Amsterdam.
with:
Ik ga naar Amsterdam.
I am going to Amsterdam.
The first expresses location.
The second expresses direction or destination.
Another useful pair:
Ik ben bij de dokter.
I am at the doctor’s.
Ik ga naar de dokter.
I am going to the doctor.
And one expression that is worth learning immediately:
Ik ben thuis.
I am at home.
but:
Ik ga naar huis.
I am going home.
Not:
*Ik ga naar thuis. (incorrect)
Thuis expresses being at home. Naar huis expresses movement homewards. Learn those two as a pair.
3. Sometimes the direction word comes after the noun
The word voorzetsel literally suggests something that stands before another element. However, Dutch occasionally has other plans.
Compare:
Ik loop in de kamer.
I am walking in the room.
with:
Ik loop de kamer in.
I walk into the room.
The first describes where the walking happens. The second describes a direction: from outside the room to inside it.
The same pattern appears in:
Ze loopt de trap af.
She walks down the stairs.
We rijden de brug over.
We drive across the bridge.
Hij loopt het huis uit.
He walks out of the house.
Grammar references call words in this position achterzetsels, or postpositions. Together with prepositions, they belong to the larger family of so-called adpositions. Directional postpositions are especially common with verbs of movement.
You do not need to memorise the term achterzetsel or adposition to use them. What matters is recognising the contrast:
door het park lopen
to walk through/around the park
versus:
het park door lopen
to walk through the park from one side to the other
Position can contribute to meaning.
4. Prepositions of time
Prepositions also organise time. Here, several useful patterns are worth learning.
Clock time: om
De les begint om negen uur.
The class starts at nine o’clock.
We eten om half zeven.
We eat at half past six.
Days and dates: often op
We hebben les op maandag.
We have class on Monday.
De afspraak is op 14 september.
The appointment is on 14 September.
With days, Dutch also very commonly leaves the preposition out:
Ik werk maandag thuis.
I am working from home on Monday.
So do not assume that English on always needs a Dutch equivalent.
Months, years and seasons: in
Ik ben jarig in augustus.
My birthday is in August.
We zijn in 2024 verhuisd.
We moved in 2024.
In de winter wordt het vroeg donker.
It gets dark early in winter.
Before and after: voor and na
Ik drink koffie voor de les.
I drink coffee before class.
Na het werk ga ik sporten.
After work I go to the gym.
From, since and until
Ik woon hier sinds 2020.
I have lived here since 2020.
Vanaf maandag werk ik weer.
I’ll be working again from Monday.
De winkel is open tot zes uur.
The shop is open until six.
Dutch uses spatial prepositions very freely for time as well, alongside specifically temporal prepositions such as tijdens, na and sinds.
Over or binnen?
This is a particularly useful contrast:
Ik vertrek over twee weken.
I am leaving in two weeks.
This means: two weeks from now.
But:
Ik stuur het binnen twee weken op.
I will send it within two weeks.
This means: at some point before those two weeks have passed. English uses in in contexts where Dutch may need very different prepositions, so these expressions are worth learning as complete patterns.
5. Fixed prepositions
Now we arrive at the part that causes most frustration, because translation stops helping.
Why do Dutch speakers say:
Ik wacht op de trein.
I am waiting for the train.
Why op?
There isn’t a useful translation-based rule. The verb is simply:
wachten op iets/iemand
The same happens with:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| denken aan | to think about/of |
| luisteren naar | to listen to |
| praten over | to talk about |
| dromen van | to dream about/of |
| geloven in | to believe in |
| houden van | to like/love |
| rekenen op | to count on |
| deelnemen aan | to participate in |
These are examples of expressions in which the preposition is closely linked to the verb. Grammatically, many of them involve a voorzetselvoorwerp. The best learning strategy is simple:
Learn the verb and the preposition together.
Do not learn:
wachten = to wait
and hope that you will later remember the correct preposition.
Learn:
wachten op
Better still, learn a whole example:
Ik wacht op de trein.
I am waiting for the train.
That gives your memory grammar, meaning and context at the same time.
6. Adjectives and nouns have fixed prepositions too
Fixed prepositions are not limited to verbs. Many adjectives occur in common combinations:
trots op: proud of
bang voor: afraid of
tevreden met: satisfied with
geïnteresseerd in: interested in
boos op: angry with
verliefd op: in love with
afhankelijk van: dependent on
benieuwd naar: curious about
For example:
Ze is trots op haar dochter.
She is proud of her daughter.
Ik ben geïnteresseerd in geschiedenis.
I am interested in history.
Hij is bang voor honden.
He is afraid of dogs.
Nouns can behave similarly:
interesse in: interest in
behoefte aan: need for
invloed op: influence on
reden voor: reason for
Again, learn the combination.
Not simply:
trots
but:
trots zijn op
Not simply:
behoefte
but:
behoefte hebben aan
That is much easier to retrieve when you actually need to speak.
7. Changing the preposition can change the meaning
Fixed does not necessarily mean that a word can only ever occur with one preposition. Sometimes different combinations express different relationships.
Compare:
Ik praat met mijn docent.
I am talking to/with my teacher.
Ik praat over mijn docent.
I am talking about my teacher.
Or:
Ze is boos op haar collega.
She is angry with her colleague.
Ze is boos over de beslissing.
She is angry about the decision.
Another useful contrast is:
Ik denk aan mijn vakantie.
I am thinking about my holiday.
versus:
Ik denk over het voorstel na.
I am thinking the proposal over.
Careful, the lesson here is not “this verb has three exceptions”. Learn the combinations as separate patterns with separate meanings.
8. What happens when the preposition refers to “it”?
This is where Dutch does something especially characteristic.
Start with:
Ik wacht op de trein.
I am waiting for the train.
If you do not want to repeat de trein, Dutch normally says:
Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for it.
Not normally:
*Ik wacht op het. (incorrect)
When a preposition refers back to a thing, idea or situation, Dutch generally uses a pronominal adverb with er- rather than preposition + het. The ANS treats this as the normal pattern for reference to things.
More examples:
We praten over het probleem.
We are talking about the problem.
becomes:
We praten erover.
We are talking about it.
And:
Ik ben tevreden met het resultaat.
I am satisfied with the result.
becomes:
Ik ben ermee tevreden.
I am satisfied with it.
9. Things and people behave differently
Compare:
Ik wacht op de trein. Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for the train. I am waiting for it.
But:
Ik wacht op Anna. Ik wacht op haar.
I am waiting for Anna. I am waiting for her.
For a person, use the ordinary personal pronoun:
op hem, op haar, met hem, met haar
This also matters in questions.
For a thing:
Waar praat je over?
What are you talking about?
For a person:
Met wie praat je?
Who are you talking to?
Not:
*Waar praat je mee? (incorrect)
if you mean who. That question asks about the thing or means you are using to talk. This person-versus-thing distinction is part of the standard Dutch pronominal-adverb system.
10. Why does the preposition sometimes end up at the end?
You will frequently hear:
Waar wacht je op?
What are you waiting for?
Waar praat je over?
What are you talking about?
Dutch can also use:
Waarop wacht je?
Waarover praat je?
Both are possible.
The forms with waar-, daar-, hier- and er- can remain together or be split across the sentence:
Ik wacht erop.
but:
Ik wacht er al twintig minuten op.
I have been waiting for it for twenty minutes.
This is extremely common Dutch. Because this topic has its own rules, it is better treated in detail separately. If you already know the Dutch er- and waar-/daar- system, you are seeing the same grammar here from another angle.
11. A small note for learners in Flanders
Most of the patterns in this article are useful throughout the Dutch-speaking area. But not every preposition is used identically in the Netherlands and Belgium.
For example, throughout the language area you can say:
Waar gaan jullie naartoe?
Where are you going?
In Belgian Dutch you will also regularly hear:
Naar waar gaan jullie?
Where are you going?
Naar waar, naar hier and naar daar belong to standard Belgian Dutch, while waarnaartoe, hiernaartoe and daarnaartoe are standard throughout the Dutch-speaking area.
Similarly:
Ik zit in de trein.
is standard everywhere, while:
Ik zit op de trein.
is also standard Belgian Dutch.
For learners who want one form that works everywhere, in de trein and waar … naartoe are therefore dependable choices. That does not make the Belgian alternatives incorrect.
12. Prepositions and Dutch word order
A prepositional phrase can also come at the beginning of a sentence:
Ik praat na de les met mijn docent.
I talk to my teacher after class.
becomes:
Na de les praat ik met mijn docent.
After class, I talk to my teacher.
Nothing special has happened to the preposition. This is simply the normal Dutch verb-second pattern: na de les occupies the first position, so the finite verb follows it.
Na de les + praat + ik …
If you already understand inversion in Dutch main clauses, you already know the rule.
How should you actually learn Dutch prepositions?
This is perhaps the most interesting part for you. Do not try to memorise an enormous list of translations:
aan = at/to/on
op = on/at/for
voor = for/before
It will not give you a reliable system. Instead, use two strategies.
When the preposition expresses place, direction or time, pay attention to the complete relationship:
in Amsterdam / naar Amsterdam
bij de dokter / naar de dokter
op tafel / aan tafel
om negen uur / op maandag / in augustus
These contrasts gradually build an intuitive map of how Dutch organises space and time.
When the preposition is fixed, learn a chunk:
wachten op iets
trots zijn op iemand
geïnteresseerd zijn in iets
behoefte hebben aan iets
Even better, store a complete sentence:
Ik wacht op de trein.
I am waiting for the train.
Ze is trots op haar zoon.
She is proud of her son.
Ik ben geïnteresseerd in geschiedenis.
I am interested in history.
A learner who knows fifty useful chunks will usually use prepositions more accurately than someone who has memorised fifty abstract translations.
Summary (TL;DR)
Dutch prepositions do not translate neatly word for word. Start by asking what kind of relationship you are dealing with.
Place
Het boek ligt op tafel.
The book is on the table.
Direction
Ik ga naar Amsterdam.
I am going to Amsterdam.
Time
De les begint om negen uur.
The class starts at nine o’clock.
Fixed combination
Ik wacht op de bus.
I am waiting for the bus.
Learn:
wachten op
rather than trying to translate op separately.
And when a preposition refers back to a thing:
Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for it.
Prepositions are not completely random, but neither can every choice be calculated from one rule. Some relationships can be understood, while others have to become familiar.
Native speakers do not normally stop to calculate why they say wachten op, bang voor or trots op. Those combinations feel natural because they have been heard and used thousands of times. That is also the goal for a learner. Do not try to master every possible meaning of in, op, aan, bij and voor at once. Instead, learn the useful patterns. Learn fixed combinations as complete chunks. Gradually, the right preposition will start to sound less like a grammar problem, and more like Dutch.
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